Obesity Driving Medicare Costs Higher

Forbes reports:

The epidemic of obesity sweeping America is the prime culprit behind recent sharp increases in Medicare spending, researchers report.

The reason: Older, heavier people are much more likely to enter the program with pre-existing medical issues, the experts say.

"The rise in Medicare spending is largely traced to the doubling of obesity among the elderly and obesity-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and so on," said lead author Kenneth E. Thorpe, the Robert W. Woodruff Professor and Chair of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta.

Imagine a world were the market determines health care premiums.Imagine a world where those who are overweight pay higher premiums because they are overweight.It's amazing how market incentives can change peoples lives.Too bad this simple concept isn't tried.